Business entrepreneur Johann Rupert of South Africa has lost his title as the richest person in Africa to Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, according to Forbes and Bloomberg.
Dangote’s net worth increased by $10 billion to $10.1 billion as of January 8, 2024, according to the Forbes Daily billionaires ranking website, which monitors daily changes to the net worth of the wealthiest people worldwide.
He surpassed the family of South African luxury goods entrepreneur Johann Rupert.
As of the time of writing, Rupert’s net worth stood at $10 billion, having decreased from $10.7 billion on January 30, 2023.
Currently, Rupert is ranked 197th globally, and Dangote is ranked 191st on the Forbes list.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, Dangote is still the richest person in Africa.
Dangote’s 86 percent holding in publicly traded Dangote Cement is said to account for the most of his wealth, according to Bloomberg. Through his conglomerate, Dangote Industries, he controls direct and indirect ownership in the corporation.
Bloomberg said: “Dangote’s other publicly traded assets include stakes in Dangote Sugar, NASCON Allied Industries, and United Bank for Africa. His stakes in the publicly traded companies are held directly and through Dangote Industries, which also owns closely held businesses operating in food manufacturing, fertiliser, oil, and other industries.
“His most valuable closely held asset is a fertiliser plant with a capacity to produce up to 2.8 million tonnes of urea annually. Its net value is based on a discounted cash flow analysis by KPMG. The valuation was confirmed by outside analysts.”
